Hey there, welcome back. Today we're gonna be diving into one of my favorite resets
for mind and body. Now over the holidays, I must admit I allowed myself to indulge
in quite a few sweets. People kept bringing over homemade sourdough breads and
cookies and There was a lot of seized candy and dark chocolate, which is my
favorite. And there were a few glasses of champagne and then January came.
And I thought, okay, well, I'm definitely gonna give up alcohol because I don't
really need it. And my new puppy came at the very end of January, which brought me
tons of joy, but has also had a lot of stress and responsibility because there's
things like breaking and crate training and basic training and pretty much just all
the other things that come along with a new puppy. So at the end of my long work
day and training my new pup, I found myself going off my regular eating habits and
indulging in way more comfort food, even some cocktails, definitely a few more sweets
at the end of the evening, or at least a few more sweets for what I'm used to.
Now that's all fine and good. And everyone needs to do what's right for their body
at the right time. But for me, this incremental increase in sugars and alcohol and
comfort foods like bread or pasta, that just resulted in me feeling more sluggish,
bloated. And quite frankly, it increases my joint pain due to inflammation. And This
is bound to happen. It doesn't happen because of a bite of food or a particularly
heavy carb meal or even a week of celebrating a birthday. It happens incrementally
because sort of one day leads to one week, one week leads to a month and then
before you know, it's kind of a new habit again. So when this happens, I like to
hit the reset button and I use my go -to cleanse to get back on track. So,
let me be clear. I don't believe in fasting, counting calories, fad diets,
skipping meals, or juice cleanses. I believe in eating the way you can for most of
your life. And again, that doesn't mean skipping birthday cakes on your birthday or
not having a glass of champagne at a wedding or things like that. I'm not talking
about deprivation and I'm not talking about perfection. I'm just saying,
holistically, there's a certain way I like to eat to optimize my energy,
my health, and just the way I feel and think. And if I go too far off the wagon,
I feel it in my body. But I also feel it in my mental clarity. So this is a
practice that I have been doing on and off for probably 15 years. And it's informed
mostly how I eat on a regular basis. So let me rewind and tell you how I first
came to learn about this anti -inflammatory diet. Many years ago, I developed a
condition called frozen shoulder. Now if you haven't experienced or heard of frozen
shoulder, it's a condition that can affect men or women, but it's often related to
a sports injury, but not always. But more often than not, it tends to plague more
women than men, and it unfortunately is fairly common amongst women between the ages
of about 45 to 55, which they think might be directly related to changes in
hormones. But I didn't know all of this way back when. Mine came on slowly as a
shoulder injury due to tennis, but then rapidly turned into two years of limited
sleepy, sleepless nights, chronic pain, and having to give up my favorite sport,
which is tennis, for several years. But at that time, I was determined to conquer
my condition. So I went to orthopedic specialists, acupuncturists,
chiropractors, massage therapists, physical therapists, but really nobody was helping.
And during my healing journey, I saw this one holistic doctor who put me on an
elimination diet to reduce inflammation because he believed that might be the
component to my shoulder problem. Well, the truth is, the diet didn't fix my
shoulder at all. But it did do something unexpected. Everything else in my body
improved. My skin looked better, my energy skyrocketed,
I was year, and I even lost 15 pounds. So I was so thrilled with how I felt that
I adhered to this program for over a year. And then slowly, I became less
restrictive as time went on. But generally, this is kind of the lifestyle or life
plan that I adopted in terms of my nutritional guidelines. So whenever I feel like
my energy levels are starting to dip again, or my joints are starting to ache, I
kind of do it as a reset again. It has become the number one program I recommend
to my clients who want to lose weight or simply want to feel better. And I have
had dozens of people lose 10 to 40 pounds on this program and they tell me when
they change their eating habits and lost the weight, everything else in their lives
changed too. It's pretty simple and it's the elimination of four things No white
flour, no white sugar, no alcohol, no dairy Now most people usually find one thing
on the list that's easy to eliminate and Then two things they'll say oh that might
be a challenge and then there's always one of the four. They say well, that's not
possible But here's the thing nothing's impossible. And it also doesn't have to be
forever. When I started this, I did it just as an experiment to reset my body and
to see how it felt without these foods. Because I knew, from the research I had
done and from what this doctor had told me, these are the four culprits of
inflammation and what Chinese medicine calls liver congestion. These are also the
foods that cause the most cravings for most people, along with anything highly
processed like candy, chips, crackers, soda, fast food, etc. But here's the great
news. Once you eliminate them for a week or so, you lose your cravings for them.
So the first week is actually the hardest, and then it gets a lot easier. Now,
as I said, I don't eat this way all the time. And when I start letting these
foods creep back into my diet, certainly at a high level, I certainly feel it.
My joints swell, the scale goes up, and I don't feel like my best self. Now if
you're experiencing anything in these categories, brain fog, joint swelling,
the scale is too high, fatigue, crankiness, bloated, you may want to try this
because it's kind of magical. Now, let me explain why this happens and how you can
do it too. First, let's talk about the science. Why do these four things,
sugar, alcohol, white flour, and dairy, affect so many people? Well, first, let's
talk about sugar and white flour. These refined carbs cause spikes in our blood
sugar, leading to energy crashes and creased cravings, and something you might not
have known, which is water retention. Carbs, especially refined ones,
make your body hold onto water, which is why you often feel puffy or bloated after
a heavy carb meal. So this is particularly an issue for women who tend to retain
more water for many reasons related to hormones, although this can certainly impact
men too. Now, let's talk about alcohol. Besides dehydrating you, alcohol can inflame
your gut, mess with your sleep, and disrupt your hormone balance. Not to mention,
it's often loaded with hidden sugars. Wine, champagne, and especially cocktails are
loaded with sugar and carbs. Now, let's talk about dairy. I know that dairy is the
easiest way to consume protein. Cheese, milk, yogurt, even sweets like ice cream or
frozen yogurt are also readily available and delicious. And for some people,
the digestion of dairy is not an issue. But for many people, lactose intolerant or
not, dairy products can cause inflammation, bloating, congestion, and even skin
breakouts due to lactose or casein proteins. And in some cases, dairy can create
more histamines in the body. The allergic reactions which might manifest as runny
nose, more mucus, or even exacerbate asthma or autoimmune conditions.
Now, I know what you're thinking. If I eliminate these four food groups, what can I
eat? It seems like there's nothing left. Well, during this elimination reset,
the focus should be on lean proteins and vegetables with a limited amount of fresh
fruit because fruit has a lot of natural sugar, which is definitely better than
white sugar and it certainly has fiber, but it still should be eaten in moderation.
And again, we're not talking about cutting out all of these things forever. We just
want to investigate how they impact your body. Okay, so you're thinking, All right,
Jackie, what do I do with all this information? Well, here's your homework. It's not
to try the elimination diet. In fact, I don't want you to cut out anything just
yet. Instead, if you're interested in feeling less sluggish,
losing weight, clearing up your skin, better digestion, better sleep, all the things,
all I want you to do is track what you eat and drink for one week.
Whether you use a food journal, a notebook, your phone, an Excel spreadsheet, an
app, it doesn't matter. Just write it down. Now every time I work with a client
who wants to change their eating habits or lose weight or just feel better, we
always start with awareness. I want you to notice what you're eating,
when you're eating it, and most importantly, how it makes you feel. Are you bloated?
Are you tired? Are you energized? Are you moody? Are you craving something?
What food causes you to eat more, crave more? And then why do you eat?
Is it stress? Is it boredom? Is it habit? Is it loneliness? Or is it genuinely
hunger. So just start paying attention to these things and writing them down.
Everything. Track your water intake too. If you haven't listened to this podcast
since the beginning, hydration is the focus of my very first episode and it is the
key element to your daily well -being. But here's the thing when you start tracking,
you have to let go of judgment. Be honest with what you're putting in your mouth,
whether it's one M &M or a pack of sugarless gum or a bottle of wine It all gets
written down This is about collecting data on your body your weight your aches and
pains your bloating your fatigue, etc. And after a week of tracking if You're
inclined to try this challenge Then you can start preparing your kitchen and
cupboards for it, because the key is preparation. Eliminating the junk food.
Of course, if you have kids that's always a little bit of a challenge, you keep it
separate. And then buying what you need to set yourself up for success.
So I recommend doing this challenge for 28 days to get the full effect. But that
can be very daunting for many people who have never done something like this before.
So start with seven days. Seven days of tracking, of course. And then seven days of
no white flour, no sugar, no alcohol, no dairy. But here's some other tips for
success. Don't skip meals. In theory, you shouldn't be "snacking," so you might need
to eat four meals a day instead of three. Every meal should have at least 15 to
20 grams of protein. Plan ahead. Always have healthy proteins and veggie choices
ready to eat, or healthy places that you like to eat or take out from. Drink
plenty of water, at least 64 ounces a day. Now if you want to add some carbs to
the program and not just do veggies, fruit, and protein, include small amounts of
either plain rice or red or sweet potatoes are fine too, as long as they're not
fried. But the important thing is to read labels. You want to avoid processed foods
and fried foods. And no artificial sweeteners are to be used as sugar substitutes.
And that's a whole other podcast. So that's your challenge. One week of tracking,
no changes, just awareness. Then if you're ready to take on the seven day challenge
or the full 28 day challenge, I would be happy to support you.
You can reach out to me on my website to schedule a call or send me a note and
just tell me how you're doing. I'll be happy to be your accountability partner. And
as for me, I'm nine days into my reset and my results are pretty good. My
digestion and sleep are already better. I've lost a couple of pounds too and my
inflammation is way down in my joints. This is the number one reason I love this
program. Alright friends, if you found this episode helpful, please leave me a review
or share it with a friend who might need a little reset in their life too. And as
always, I thank you for listening and I look forward to talking to you soon. Bye
for now.
